25 July to 2 August 2025
In the Theatre Upstairs
Short Plays 2025
a set of short plays by directors new to the NVT
Tickets Available Soon
Auto-Da-Fe by Tennessee Williams
directed by Ayshen Irfan
Auto-da-Fé is an intense and haunting exploration of repression, desire, and psychological torment. Set in 1940s New Orleans, the play follows Eloi, a sexually repressed postal worker who lives under the watchful eye of his overbearing mother. Haunted by his own desires and consumed by guilt, he perceives the city as a den of corruption and sin. Desperate for purity, he spirals toward a tragic and fiery resolution.
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Fade to Black by David Gillies
directed by Greg Donaldson
An actor waits in the green room to go onstage but not all is as it seems. Does this actor even know that he is an actor? Is this the afterlife? The void? Where the hell is he?
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The Fifteen Minute Hamlet by Tom Stoppard
directed by Goldie Majtas
A re-imagining of Tom Stoppard’s Fifteen minute Hamlet.
It is the early hours of the morning and a group of students find themselves reciting Hamlet from memory after partying all night.
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The Pen of My Aunt by Gordon Daviot
directed by Dave Barnstorm
This short play revolves around the conflicts and hilarious misunderstandings that arise when a French soldier is found in the woods without papers by a German corporal during the German occupation of France in 1944. Madame, the owner of a country house, plays along and pretends that the young soldier is her nephew, ably abetted by her wilful and not-altogether competent maid, and a clever ruse involving laundry. The corporal is tricked and hoodwinked by Madame, who skilfully plays the part of collaborator, whilst firmly upholding her position in the Resistance.
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Red Peppers by Noel Coward
directed by Ashley Artus
George and Lily Pepper are a husband-and-wife act touring in provincial music hall. They are seen first onstage, and then in their dressing room, and finally onstage again.